Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators has captured the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the “goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position,” as selected by NHL General Managers. Prior to 1981-82, the Vezina was awarded to the goaltender(s) whose team allowed the fewest goals during the regular season, the current criterion for the William M. Jennings Trophy.

Rinne was a runaway winner, garnering 22 first-place votes from the 31 cast by NHL General Managers. His 129 voting points placed him ahead of second-place Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets (82 points) and third-place Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (21 points).

And then you got to the locker room, finally, where no one could see you or hear you, and all of that emptiness turned itself into emotion. Looking around at everyone — everyone who had fought with you all the way to a Cup final, to a Game 6, to a bounce away from a Game 7 — and it was hard to keep your emotions in check. They weren’t even all bad emotions. I was proud, for sure — both of this team and of myself. And I definitely wasn’t breaking sticks or anything. But I was still … I don’t know. It’s kind of hard to explain. There was nothing left to do, you know? So I just sat at my locker, and I looked at everyone, and I thought about everything, and I cried.

A lot of the guys did. A few of the guys talked, eventually. Mike Fisher got up first, and said some words. He talked about how proud he was to be a Predator, and how proud he was of this season. I think a lot of us were still too emotional to talk yet — so it was good of Mike to get up. After that, Joey spoke. Obviously he’d been injured, and was having to watch from the crowd, and wanting to be out there so bad — I know how tough that had to have been. And then P.K. spoke, and of course he was awesome — pure P.K. He talked about how fun this was. And about how glad he was to be here. And about how much confidence we should take with ourselves going into the next season.

It was a really good speech. They all were. But to be honest, that last part … at first, when P.K. said it, I think it was kind of hard to wrap my head around. “Next season” just didn’t really seem like it mattered much in that moment. Wait till next year — it’s a cliché for a reason, right? No one’s ever talked about “next year” while holding a trophy. And so I think I just sort of put it out of my mind. I left the arena, went back home, and had a nice, quiet night. My old goalie coach, my friends and family, my girlfriend — they all came over to keep me company. And we just enjoyed a little wine, shared some stories, had a few laughs. It ended up turning into a lot of reflection — a lot of looking back, and thinking about how I got to where I am, now, here in Nashville.

Pekka Rinne was standing there, ready to face the music, the moment the door to the Nashville Predators’ dressing room opened.

Hours earlier, Rinne was standing in the same spot, talking about trying to find a “happy place” as he readied to bounce back from a shaky opening to the biggest series of his life.

What he found instead inside PPG Paints Arena was his own personal hell.

The rock and backbone to the Predators’ first-ever run to the Stanley Cup Final unravelled for all to see. Rinne has still never won a start against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He was yanked by coach Peter Laviolette after allowing three goals on stream of six shots to start the third period. A tied game turned into a full-on Penguin rout.

Just like that, from leading Conn Smythe candidate to total collapse. Rinne seemingly caved to the weight of the moment.

“Obviously, it’s very disappointing right now,” Rinne said. “For me, I treat this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ve played a long time, and the first time having a chance to play for the Cup. I think you just have to bury these two games and move ahead.”

For more than a decade, roughly a dozen members of the Karpat team that won back-to-back Finnish hockey league titles in 2004 and 2005 have reconvened every June for a cabin getaway. The retreats give the former teammates a weekend to remember old times and relive on-ice conquests.

Arguably the most-liked member of the group, Pekka Rinne, won’t be there this summer. But his absence isn’t without good reason: Rinne, now the star goaltender for the Nashville Predators, has a date with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals.

“We are happy for him but also sad,” said Niklas Backstrom, a goaltender who played 10 seasons in the N.H.L. after four with Karpat, “because we are going to go there and he won’t make the trip this year. But there’s something much better.”

Rinne’s date with the Penguins started poorly. After leading playoff goalies in nearly every major category through three rounds, Rinne allowed four goals on 11 shots in the Predators’ 5-3 loss in Game 1 on Monday. Game 2 is Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

Rinne’s absence from his friends’ trip will give them something more to do than swap stories.

“It will be fun to be together with the guys and watch the game,” Backstrom said.

Going into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final Monday night, the on-line betting site Bovada had Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne as the favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL’s postseason MVP. His 1.70 goals-against average and his .941 save percentage were the best in these playoffs. He had stopped 446 of 474 shots in series wins against Chicago, St. Louis and Anaheim.

But then Rinne got to Pittsburgh.

Unbelievable things happen to him when he plays the Penguins.

A five-on-three power-play goal that was set up by teammate James Neal’s undisciplined stupidity, a goal by a player who hadn’t scored one all spring and an own-goal by teammate Mattias Ekholm happened to him Monday night....

The next shot that Rinne saw didn’t come until 3:17 was left in the game. A beautiful wrister by Jake Guentzel — a player who hadn’t scored in eight games and one many speculated would be scratched before the game — was the deciding goal in the Penguins’ 5-3 win.

That’s beyond surreal.

“It’s tough. He’s been a rock for us,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said of Rinne. “There’s no question about Pekks in net and what he’s capable of. He’s the backbone of this team.”

This call had the San Jose Sharks shaking their heads. Joe Pavelski appeared to score the OT winner as the San Jose Sharks' captain was shoved into Pekka Rinne by Predators forward Paul Gaustad, but the referees ruled that Pavelski made "incidental contact" with Rinne, preventing Rinne from making a save and thus negating the goal:

Even after missing three weeks because of a sprained knee sustained in January, Rinne still started 64 games, a total that only six other goaltenders surpassed last season. He won 41 games and was a legitimate MVP candidate midway through the season, leading his counterparts in wins (29), goals-against average (1.96) and save percentage (.931) at the All-Star break.

Comparatively, the 32-year-old significantly struggled during the second half and playoffs, leading many to wonder whether his workload was to blame.

"It would be an easy game if you could say, 'OK, I'm going to play 60 really good games,' and then (backup goaltender Carter Hutton's) going to play 20 really good games," Rinne said. "It would be easy to say like that, but you never know what (the) situation is going to be during the season. Hopefully, I stay healthy and (am) able to play as many games as possible. Obviously, you want to play. That's the one thing you always want to do — is just play."

During the third period of the Nashville Predators 5-1 victory on Tuesday night, goaltender Pekka Rinne sustained a sprained knee which will cause him to miss the next three games and All-Star Weekend, the club announced Thursday. Rinne’s status will be re-evaluated and updated after the NHL All-Star Break.

added 1:22pm,

Pekka Rinne saw the doctor this morning and will be out 3-5 weeks. #Preds

The Nashville Predators won yet again, this time 4-1 over the visiting Vancouver Canucks, but the real story on this night was the injury to superstar Predators goalie Pekka Rinne.

The Hart and Vezina Trophy candidate, who leads the NHL with 29 wins, left the game early in the third period after a mild collision with Chris Higgins of the Canucks pushed him into the back boards, where his left pad hit first. It wasn't violent by any measure, but Rinne was hurt. He was listed as day to day after the game with a lower-body injury and will be re-evaluated Thursday by the team.

Head coach Peter Laviolette said after the game said he didn't think the injury was bad at first glance, "but you just never know," he said. Talk about a team holding its breath. Rinne missed 51 games last year with a hip issue/infection, and he is their engine so let's hope it is indeed a minor injury.

read on for more topics from the ESPN hockey crew including the Bruins have a decision to make on David Pastrnak...

It's no secret, when I've been asked if I had to build a goaltender, what would it look like, the simplest reply I can offer is: Pekka Rinne.

- 6'5"
- unreal flexibility
- elite lateral movement
- great puckhandling
- the Finnish relaxed but intense mental makeup
- durability (can play 70 games in a season)
- structure, but worries about stopping the puck by any means necessary
- elite rebound control because he catches pucks - and this is why I believe Pekka and most Finnish goalies work to give themselves the edge

There are a few reasons I am biased, one being I had the great fortune of playing with one of the most talented goaltenders I've ever come across in Miikka Kiprusoff. Second, I had the opportunity to go to Finland three summers in a row and work with some of their goaltenders and the coaches involved in their development, and watch firsthand the philosophy and thought process behind what they believe to be important in the mechanics of goaltending.

The Grey Cup is taking place today, which is why the Wings-Canucks matinee is the only NHL game on the schedule, and the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons spends the vast majority of his Sunday notebook discussing the match-up between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Calgary Stampeders (airing at 6 PM EST on TSN), but he spends one meaty paragraph discussing all things NHL-related:

I wonder if Bob McCown read his own book. In the bestselling 100 Greatest Hockey Arguments, McCown makes a case against Paul Henderson’s inclusion in the Hockey Hall of Fame. A strong case. Lately, he has been pushing the Henderson Hall of Fame agenda. Strange ... On Saturday afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks were tied for the most points in the NHL and that has to be wrong, doesn’t it? ... The first quarter MVP in the NHL: Pekka Rinne ...

He was supposed to be back a year ago, back from hip surgery, back to his old self. But then came an infection, another surgery, another rehab and the worst season of his NHL career. And then came something else, something you wouldn’t necessarily expect from a two-time Vezina Trophy finalist with a seven-year, $49 million contract.

Doubt.

“You come back, and in your own head, you think you’re going to be the same player that you’ve always been and you’re going to start where you left,” Pekka Rinne said. “When it doesn’t happen, it’s mentally pretty demanding.”

Rinne is finally back now, for real. Among the reasons the Nashville Predators are off to one of the best starts in their history – new coach, new players, new up-tempo style, hot rookie, better 5-on-5 play – it’s important that they have a healthy, happy, elite goalie again. He entered Tuesday night tied for the lead in wins (13), second in goals-against average (1.92) and third in save percentage (.930).

“He’s invaluable,” said Predators captain Shea Weber. “You see when he’s in the lineup how good we are.”

After missing 51 games due to an infection in his surgically repaired hip, goaltender Pekka Rinne will start for Nashville on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rinne recently completed a two-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals (Feb. 28-March 3). The Kempele, Finland won both outings, turning away 33-of-35 shots against to post a .99 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage.

In his last five NHL games prior to his injury, Rinne was 3-1-1 with a 1.60 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage – turning away 120-of-128 shots in those contests. The two-time Vezina Trophy finalist is just five wins shy of surpassing Tomas Vokoun's mark in all-time wins (157; Vokoun, 161), and has been among the League’s elite since becoming a full-time starter in 2008-09, ranking first in shutouts and among the Top 10 in wins, save percentage and goals-against average prior to his injury.

As a follow-up to Pekka Rinne’s MRI earlier this month, we indicated Dec. 20 as a date for further update and next steps relative to Pekka’s recovery from a bacterial infection. It is important to note that Pekka and the medical team have not encountered any setbacks in his recovery and rehabilitation.

However, as we have realized and learned throughout this process, the recovery and rehabilitation from a bacterial infection does not involve a specific timetable. It does come with a degree of uncertainty.

Pekka saw Dr. Byrd today – he had an MRI and saw the doctor this afternoon,” Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile said. “The MRI has improved. It is always hard to know where we are in this situation because we’ve never dealt with it before. In a nutshell, the doctor is happy with the progress and he is recommending two more weeks of rehab. December 20th is our target date to get Pekka into more strenuous activity leading back into playing. From my position, I’m obviously encouraged, as is the doctor, because we are making progress. To be honest, there is never going to be a timetable that is going to be perfect for us until we see him back on the ice. But, this is all good news, and December 20th will be the date as we move forward.

“The problem with this situation is there really is no timeframe that we can be exact on. I’m hoping, from listening to the doctor today, that when we get to December 20th, we’ll be on the home stretch.”

Pekka Rinne underwent a MRI earlier this week and he continues to progress in his recovery from a bacterial infection in his hip which was initially identified and addressed with arthroscopic hip surgery on October 24. There have been no setbacks – and we and the doctors are thankful they have identified the infection – so now it is simply a matter of time for recovery and allowing treatment to take its course. Pekka will remain on crutches and antibiotics for at least the next couple weeks before a follow-up MRI in late November. We expect a full and complete recovery and will provide additional updates when appropriate.

The star netminder saw his numbers drop this season after consecutive years of being named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, given annually to the NHL’s top goaltender. Rinne had a 2.43 goals against average and .910 save percentage, his lowest numbers since the 2009-10 season.

Predators goalie Pekka Rinne leads the NHL with four shutouts and ranks among league leaders in goals against average and save percentage, but he’s frustrated with his performance in shootouts.

On Monday, Rinne expanded on comments he made after a 2-1 shootout loss to Minnesota on Saturday, when he called himself “terrible in the shootouts” after surrendering goals to two of three Wild shooters.

The Predators have suffered a league-worst five shootout losses, and Rinne’s .556 save percentage in shootouts leaves Nashville ranked 21st in that category.

“I feel like I’m probably not so comfortable right now in shootout situations,” said Rinne, who had a .700 save percentage in shootouts last year and a .794 save percentage the year before that.

Nashville, Tenn. (November 3, 2011) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced today that the club has signed goaltender Pekka Rinne to a seven-year, $49 million contract – the largest in franchise history.

“Today’s signing is further evidence of our ownership’s commitment to keeping our core intact,” Poile said. “This is the first step of a process designed to retain our key players and leaders. Pekka has grown with our franchise, just recently established our franchise record for career shutouts and is now recognized as one of the game’s elite players. We’re thrilled to know that he will be backstopping our franchise for several years to come.”

Determining a first overall pick in this year’s fantasy hockey drafts is anything but easy, but we probably know this much: the first overall pick won’t be a goalie. Yet a goalie is an important investment to fantasy hockey teams, since only two goalies can be responsible for four out of a team’s ten stat categories in many fantasy hockey leagues. The need for solid goaltending explains why many starting goalies can fly off the board early in fantasy hockey drafts.

“He comes with a lot of speed and makes you back off, but I don’t think he did anything special,” said Rinne after the Predators’ record fell to 6-4 in shootouts. “He made a nice move, but I thought he fanned on the shot. He was trying to go upstairs and fanned on it and I was leaning a little bit.”

A few years ago, Nashville coach Barry Trotz and the team’s celebrated goaltending coach, Mitch Korn, were watching one of the organization’s prospect camps. In goal stood 2008 seventh-round draft pick Anders Lindback.

“We looked at each other and said, ‘He looks just like Pekka,’” Trotz said, comparing Lindback to the team’s current No. 1 goalie, Pekka Rinne. “‘He moves just looks like Pekka.’ It was funny because we looked at each other and we just started chuckling because we were both thinking the same thing.”

Since Lindback, 22, seemingly came out of nowhere to land the Predators’ back-up job—and, for the time being, the No. 1 job with Rinne out for a few weeks with a left knee injury—the comparisons to Rinne are hard to shake.

Nashville’s Pekka Rinne is giving the Blue Jackets’ Steve Mason a run for top rookie honours. Both have helped put their teams in a position to make the playoffs this year. For Columbus it would be the franchises maiden voyage into the post-season.

There’s not much to choose from when comparing the goaltenders numbers wise.

Other than shutouts, Rinne’s numbers are better or almost identical to Masons.

That being said, when forced to make a choice my support leans to Mason.

Neil Bristow at Hockey Prime Time has an interview with Nashville Predators’ goalie Pekka Rinne online which he was good enough to mention to me today. Rinne is set to back up Dan Ellis this coming season (which didn’t impress Brian Costello at THN very much yesterday) so maybe now’s a good time to get to know the guy better.

From Hockey Prime Time:

Neil Bristow - You made your NHL debut Dec.15th 2005. Can you share with us a little of what that was like? What was going through your mind at that time?

Pekka Rinne - It was something that I had always been dreaming of. At that time both Tomas Vokoun and Chris Mason were hurt and I got the call. Everything happened pretty fast and I didn`t have time to stress about the game, we won the game and it was just amazing experience I’ll remember for rest of my life.